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People should not use tragedies to push political views

Politics are an important factor in what makes the United States a democracy, but they should not be brought up in praising the death of people with different opinions hours after a mass shooting happened.

On October 1, a shooting took place on the Las Vegas Strip. It happened on the third and final day of the Route 91 country music festival while Jason Aldean was performing. More than 50 people were killed and 500 concert-goers were injured.

The following Monday, I was scrolling through Twitter and came across a tweet about the attack. It said something along the lines of “pray only Trumptards die,” with a photo of victims climbing over a fence at the concert trying to protect themselves.

The first problem with this tweet was that someone assumed that every single person in that crowd, including children, support President Donald Trump. There could have easily been someone who supports Hillary Clinton, or Bernie Sanders, or whoever, just as easily as there could have been a Trump supporter.

The second problem with the tweet is the picture showing people climbing over a fence to protect themselves. These people are trying to stay alive and more than likely saw someone get shot or got shot themselves. I do not understand how someone could tweet such a graphic and heartbreaking photo and make an ignorant, disgusting comment.

No person should be killed or wounded for their point of view on politics. The motives for this attack are still unknown, but it is difficult to pinpoint that the people in this crowd are President Trump supporters just because they listen to country music. Not every person who enjoys country music supports what President Trump stands for.

Music is a diverse subject and offers many different outlooks. You cannot pinpoint a Democrat from a Republican just by the music they listen to, unless the song clearly says “I support President Trump.” The person who tweeted this is ignorant for assuming that these victims are Republicans just from the concert they were attending.

It disgusts me that, in a time of horror and anguish that this country is going through after this terrorist attack, people still drag politics into the situation by praising someone for killing innocent people just because they listen to country music.

These are mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, or someone’s child. But people cannot put aside differences and help or donate to the many victims of this incident. Children have lost their parents. Husbands have lost their wives. Mothers and fathers have lost their children. Families are in pain for the loss of loved ones while someone is thankful for their death. According to the person who tweeted this, someone’s taste in music determines their political beliefs and should die because of it.

The United States is a democracy for a reason. We have the freedom to vote for whoever we want and listen to whatever music we want. The fact that someone decides it is acceptable that the concert-goers were shot because of the music they listen to or who they may have voted for seems insane. It goes against the rules of democracy.

Politics should be the last thing on our minds right now. There are people on their deathbed or grieving who need prayers, not a tweet from someone who is celebrating the fact that people were shot.

There is a time and place for politics. That is not hours after the largest mass shooting to happen in history.

We need to come together, putting aside political views, to help the families suffering. The victims of this crime would not care who you supported in the recent presidential election. Right now, that does not matter.

The nation is hurting from what happened in Vegas. It’s horrible news, and no one should be celebrating the death of these victims. I don’t know what sick human being would be capable of tweeting something like this, but it’s disappointing.

We need to forget about politics and take time to think about the lives that were lost. So many people with plenty of different opinions left their house or hotel that night thinking they were going to have a great time but never made it home to their families. Yet the only thing the tweeter could think about was how much of a gain it was for people who enjoy country music to die that night.

Negativity should be the last thing to be spread toward the lives that were lost and the ones fighting for their life. Love is what matters most. For just one moment, America should forget about politics and think about the many lives that were taken that night.

No one wants to be in the shoes of the families that lost loved ones that night. But from all of the negativity on social media, put yourself in their shoes before making a comment about how these people deserved to lose their lives.